The Johns Hopkins Gazette: April 9, 2001
April 9, 2001
VOL. 30, NO. 29

  

Film Fest 2001 Ready to Roll This Week

Student-run event gives Baltimore four days of independent offerings

By Greg Rienzi
The Gazette

Johns Hopkins Gazette Online Edition

While Julia Roberts and Russell Crowe are still deciding on which mantle to perch their respective Oscars, it's time again to turn to the world of cinema. Minus the paparazzi.

In celebration of movies made on a modest budget, the student-run Johns Hopkins Film Festival returns to Baltimore this week.

The fourth annual festival kicks off at 8 p.m., Thursday, April 12, with a screening of The Last Late Night, the tale of a housewarming party gone horribly awry.

Voted best film festival by Baltimore magazine, the four-day event this year will include 15 features and more than 50 short and long-short films. Screenings will be held at the Charles Theater; Mudd, Shriver and Gilman halls on the Homewood campus; the Maryland Institute, College of Art; and the H. Lewis Gallery.

The Johns Hopkins Film Society started the festival to provide a forum for feature-length and short films that the public wouldn't otherwise see. This year's program features award winners from other festivals, such as Sundance and Slamdance, in addition to independent creations from local, national and international filmmakers.

Unlike previous years, Film Fest will not run simultaneously with Homewood's Spring Fair. Wil Ryan, the festival's director, said the decision to separate the two events was made because of inherent venue scheduling conflicts.

Ryan says that for those not already fans of independent cinema, the Johns Hopkins Film Festival makes a perfect primer.

"These films are not made by Hollywood, and that is often a good thing," Ryan says. "We have some fascinating stuff this year--lots of local films and some amazing ones made on incredibly low budgets." Ryan's particular favorite is one made under $1,000 that incorporates Matrix-style effects.

New this year are screenings at the Maryland Institute, College of Art. Ryan says the pairing with MICA "just made perfect sense," and the hope is to collaborate with other local schools in future years.

Admission to all screenings is free for Hopkins students, staff and faculty. Tickets are $3 per show (though some are free), $5 for a day pass and $15 for a festival pass.

Film Fest 2001 is funded by Hopkins' Student Activities Commission; Deans Advisory Council; the departments of English, Writing Seminars, Classics, History of Art, Romance Languages and Literatures, and the Humanities Center; the Language Teaching Center; the Center for Research on Culture and Literature; the Film and Media Studies Program; the Program for Studies of Women, Gender and Sexuality; JHMI Office of Cultural Affairs; Maryland Institute, College of Art; Maryland Film Festival; and Microcinefest.

For more information, contact Wil Ryan at 410-516-4046 or go to www.jhu.edu/~jhufilm/fest.

Hopkins Film Festival 2001

The fourth annual showcase for independent, student and local filmmakers will take place at various venues throughout Baltimore. Some screenings are free; others are $3 admission; $5, day pass; $15, festival pass; free for Hopkins affiliates with I.D. 410-516-4046. Below is a schedule of screenings (*shorts precede the featured film), some of which will run more than once.

Thurs., April 12
The Charles Theater, 1711 N. Charles St.

8 p.m. The Last Late Night*, directed by Scott Barlow, 35 mm, 97 minutes. A young couple's housewarming party takes a turn for the worse when an old friend turns up unexpectedly. Recipient of grand prize, best director, 2000 Rhode Island Film Fest. 10 p.m. Fallen Angels*, directed by Wong Kar-wai, 35 mm, 96 minutes. The lives of a contract killer, his agent and an ex-con intertwine in a tale of love and alienation.

Fri., April 13

Shriver Hall Auditorium, Homewood campus
9:30 p.m. Requiem for a Dream*, directed by Darren Aronofsky, 35 mm, 100 minutes. A brutal portrayal of drug addiction. The preceding short, "Dirt," was shown at the Sundance Film Festival.

110 Gilman Hall, Homewood campus
7 p.m. Shorts Lite.
9 p.m. Bookwars*, directed by J. Rosette, VHS, 80 minutes. A glimpse into the world of New York City street booksellers as their lives come into conflict with the mayor's controversial vision of the future of the city. Winner of best documentary, New York Underground Film Festival 2000.

Mudd Auditorium, Homewood campus
7 p.m. Green Goblin's Last Stand and The Making of Green Goblin's Last Stand, directed by Dan Poole, VHS, 100 minutes. Local filmmaker dons a Spider Man costume and re-enacts the superhero's exploits.
9 p.m. Freaky Deaky Shorts.
10:30 p.m. Prozac Daze, Nodoze Nights, directed by JHU Film Society, VHS, 40 minutes. All 25 filmmakers will be on hand to present a look at a world of characters that include Gert the Republican lesbian, Erica the compulsive dancing anorexic and Seth the schizophrenic super. Winner of best screenplay adapted from other material at the Catonsville Community College Film and Video Fest 1998.
Midnight. You Want Funny? A program of shorts.

Station Building Auditorium, MICA
6:30 p.m. Animations: More than Meets the Eye
7:15 p.m. 15th anniversary showing of one of the most famous underground films of all time, Heavy Metal Parking Lot, directed by John Heyn and Jeff Krulik, VHS, 90 minutes. Sponsored by Microcinefest.
9 p.m. Green Goblin's Last Stand and The Making of Green Goblin's Last Stand.
11 p.m. Friday the 13th program of 13 shorts.

Sat., April 14

Shriver Hall Auditorium, Homewood campus
3 p.m. 5 Alive on 35! A program of shorts.
Midnight. Midnight Movie Mayhem, presented by the Maryland Film Festival and sponsored by Microcinefest. God Made Man*, directed by Peter Nelson, 35 mm, 88 minutes. Free

110 Gilman, Homewood campus
1 p.m. Mental Hygiene Film Series: Manners, Menstruation and the American Way, sponsored by the JHMI Office of Cultural Affairs. Host Ken Smith, author of Mental Hygiene: Classroom Films 1945- 1970, will screen some of the most "mind-boggling" educational films of all time, including Are You Popular? and Seduction of the Innocent, and field questions from the audience. Free
3 p.m. Mental Hygiene Film Series (see above): Dating, Delinquency and Diversity. Free
5 p.m. Losing It, directed by Sharon Greytak, VHS, 89 minutes. A cross-cultural exploration of the perception and treatment of the disabled.
7 p.m. Short Films for Short People
9 p.m. Experimental Showcase (shorts)

Mudd Auditorium, Homewood campus
1 p.m. Range of Human Emotions (short documentaries)
3 p.m. Dime Bag O'Docs (even shorter documentaries)
4:30 p.m. Death by Animation! Free
5:30 p.m. Charlie's in the Trees (short films on the Vietnam War): Beyond the Frame and Ride the Tiger.
6:30 p.m. DISCHARGE.NWO, directed by Deni Blaise, Mini-DV, 61 minutes. Shot illegally in Serbia at great risk to its maker, this film shows the human impact of the Balkan conflict in the daily lives of a mother and son.
8 p.m. Lethal Force, directed by Alvin Ecarma, VHS, 70 minutes. Action star Cash Flagg Jr. in a white-knuckle martial arts extravaganza. Free
10 p.m. 23 Hours, directed by Eric Thornett, VHS, 90 minutes. An action-packed thriller from local filmmaker Eric Thornett. Official Slamdance 20001 selection. Free

Station Building Auditorium, MICA
3 p.m. Bookwars
4:30 p.m. Odessa or Bust
5 p.m. 23 Hours
6:45 p.m. Chuckle Machine 3000
7:20 p.m. Chuckle Machine 6000
8 p.m. Prozac Daze Nodoze Nights
9:15 p.m. The Chromium Hook
10 p.m. DISCHARGE.NWO*

Sun., April 15

Shriver Hall Auditorium, Homewood campus
7 p.m. 5 Alive on 35, (shorts)
9 p.m. All The Wrong Places*, directed by Martin Edwards, 35mm,
95 minutes. Determined to escape the shadow of her mother, a famous New York painter, Marisa Baron becomes ... an artist. This comedy won best feature at the Filmjunkie Film Festival.

110 Gilman Hall, Homewood campus
1 p.m. Student Filmmakers Showcase
3 p.m. Charlie's in the Trees
4 p.m. DISCHARGE.NWO
5 p.m. Freaky Deaky Shorts

Mudd Auditorium, Homewood campus
1 p.m. Death by Animation! Free
2 p.m. Short Films for Short People
4 p.m. High Octane Drama (shorts)
6 p.m. Handicamp, directed by Kent Bye, VHS, 60 minutes. Mentally disabled adults and young volunteers learn from and about each other. Free
8 p.m. Heavy Metal Parking Lot

Station Building Auditorium, MICA
5 p.m. From the X-Dimension (X-rated shorts)
6 p.m. God Made Man, directed by Peter Nelson and presented by the Maryland Film Festival.

H. Lewis Gallery, 1500 Bolton St.
8 p.m. Al Burian will read selections from his zine, Burn Collector.
After 8 p.m. Good Grief, directed by Andrew Dickson. A high school senior comes to grips with his fascination with role-playing games ... before they get him. Q&A will follow.
 


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